David Cameron is to announce an inquiry into claims that Britain’s security
services were complicit in the torture of terrorism suspects.

The commission is expected to be headed by a judge with the power to call
witnesses from MI5 and MI6 and to trawl through Whitehall documents. It
could lead to compensation being paid to people mistreated by foreign
security services, but with the knowledge of British intelligence officers.

It could also lead to acute embarrassment for security chiefs who have always
denied any involvement in or collusion with torture, a position backed up by
the previous Government. As in